


The Best Brother-In-Law

by Moon_Raccoon_exe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brother-in-law Ignis, Fluff, M/M, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11144577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Raccoon_exe/pseuds/Moon_Raccoon_exe
Summary: King Regis, Shield Clarus Amicitia and Shield Gladiolus are gathered in a private meeting.The prince's adviser, out of composure, without explaining, suddenly breaks in and hides under the table.His worst enemy is after him.





	The Best Brother-In-Law

The meeting currently held at the council room was not treating any major subjects.  
Indeed, it was not even about the council. It was not any formal reunion either. King Regis had asked his sworn shield and best friend of his life, Clarus Amicitia, for a small meeting of sorts to deal with minor subjects. There in the small and spontaneous meeting had Gladiolus been requested as well. The sworn shield of prince Noctis was there not only to learn from his father, as he would have to replace him one day when so the prince would have to rise as king, but also to, at some point that had yet not come in the conversation, inform both superiors about the development of the prince and his combat skills. 

The three had come to sit at the chairs of the council; lately, King Regis had come to tire sooner than just the previous year. Understanding and wishing for the king not to pressure himself too hard, the three had decided to sit for some moments, the room empty at their exceptions.  
Despite the fact that they were not dealing with major issues, they, however, were not having a friendly conversation about the weather either. Royal matters, the Kingsglaives, the new glaive and his development, Regis’ power, prince Noctis’ development, the sort of things Regis would share only with his most intimate comrade, and with the son of the latter. So, even though it was a meeting of only three people, the air was still solemn, quiet, and serious.

Reason of why the prince Noctis’ adviser’s interruption was completely off and would be the subject keeping busy the head of the three men reunited in the room. 

Ignis Scientia was not a man that could cause a scene of any sort. There could be a behemoth in the gardens, and the man would still take the time to knock on the door to ask if it was fine to come inside because he had a warning to deliver. He was a terribly serious man who could be poked with a stick for six hours straight and he would stand still in complete silence nonetheless. Somewhat cold, he was a difficult man to joke with: he had troubles understanding sarcasm at times, and some jokes went past him without him noticing, and he was as bad delivering them. It was only with his most intimate friends that he could get a honest laugh, but while he was on duty at the Citadel, he was dead like a stone.

That was why his attitude could not be explained at first, and caused the three men in the room to tense and get terribly confused.  
In the middle of the meeting between the King, Clarus and Gladiolus, the double-doors flew open. The Amicitia, too trained into their jobs, stood up by mere reflex, pulling their shields out. King Regis made his way up on his feet as well, and the three stared as the invader was not an enemy, but the prince’s adviser. Ignis had not stopped at the doors, however: once opened, he ran inside. To the surprise of the three men in the room, he did not stop even when the table was already in front of him; Ignis, not saying anything, suddenly dived under the table, throwing himself to the ground and ahead. The three men, startled and not knowing what to do or how to react, looked up at the doors to see who was chasing him or what the matter was, but the door was already closing by itself with no one behind.

The three looked at the table, but the adviser did not crawl out of it in any moment. Clarus and Regis shared glances and did not know what to do. Clarus had yet not put his shield down; for Ignis to react like this, there had to be a very serious enemy outside, somewhere in the Citadel, and it was his duty to protect Regis with his life. Ignis would have never interrupted any of them, so the fact that he interrupted the three at the same time and in a hurried, messed way…something was _very_ wrong. Expecting the worst, Clarus kept the shield up and the focus whole on the doors, like Regis. Gladiolus, on his part, was first to react and he leaned down so he could get a look of the younger man, currently hiding underneath the table.  
“Babe, what are you doing?” Gladiolus asked him, worried and tensing. 

“I beg your silence, Gladio” Ignis told him in a screamed whisper. “Please do pretend I do not exist. Sit down, if you will, and please hurry your Majesty and mister Clarus to do so as well.”  
“What’s going on, Iggy?” Gladio insisted on him. “What’s-”  
“There is no time!” Ignis said loud enough for the three men to hear him, even though he stayed under the table, down on his ankles and looking as if though he was expecting his worst enemy to appear in any second. “I require all of you, if I may, to sit down and pretend nothing has happened. I am not here. I have not been here. Do act as if though I had never come here.”  
“Ignis, what’s going on?” King Regis asked, trying to get a look from under the table as well, but not leaning down, only moving the head slightly to a side.  
“My honor is in danger!” Ignis said with hurry and completely serious, like always. “All of my image and pride is in danger. I _must_ beg your silence, your Majesty!”

The three men shared confused glances, but they all agreed without the need of a word or a nod, and reached for their chairs to sit again. They tried to do as they were told and pretend nothing had happened, but they could not simply ignore this: Ignis, as reserved and cold as he was, had just broken into their meeting and had dived in underneath the table, begging for silence. There had to be something of incredible measures following him, something that-  
Suddenly, the doors flew open again. Clarus and Gladiolus had tensed at first, but they calmed down and froze in the same second their eyes caught sight of Ignis’ most feared enemy, standing at the door.  
“A-ah! Gladdy, daddy…” Iris, standing at the doors, froze in the moment she saw she had walked in on his family talking with King Regis. The three men looked at her as surprised as she looked, but she could not notice, too busy drowning in a sudden panic: she knew she was commanded to never interrupt royal matters unless it was a matter of life and death, and even though it had really not been her intention, she had just walked not only in some random royal matter, but into a conversation with the very same King himself. She stood frozen at the doors, the face flushing red and the eyes wide. “I-I…I’m very sorry, your Majesty, I-I…I was…I didn’t know that you…”

“It’s alright, darling” King Regis said kindly to her, smiling from the distance. “Is anything the matter?”  
“I was…I’m only…looking for Ignis…” she said with deep shyness, gripping at her skirt tightly, swinging the body slightly side to side, embarrassed and not able to look up from her feet.  
The three men shared a subtle glance with one another. This…this could not have been the reason that the adviser had…confused and not knowing at all if this was the matter, they still did not dare take the risk of ruining something for Ignis, so they did as they were told.  
“He has not been here, sweetie” Clarus replied to her, eyebrows furrowed; he was very confused and not sure if he understood what he was doing.  
“I…had thought he could have…” Iris said still with shyness. “Did you…I don’t mean to interrupt even more, I’m sorry, but…did you see or hear him pass by?”  
“I’m afraid not” Clarus replied. “Do you need anything, princess?” 

Iris looked up at him as if caught doing something bad, and furiously shook the head.  
“N-no, it’s…something silly, don’t worry, dad” she said and, too shy to continue, she bowed in respect to the king and walked backwards a few steps, opening the door without giving her back to the men at the table. “E-excuse me…”  
Before anyone could bid her goodbye, she exited the room in a hurry. Her little steps echoed behind the doors before there was absolute silence again. The three men were still quiet as if expecting the _real_ reason of Ignis’ previous panic to appear, but nothing followed. Sharing some confused and uncomfortable glances, none knew what to do. Gladio, again, looked under the table without standing up from his chair.  
“Iggy?” he called. “Were you…hiding from Iris?”

“I apologize, Gladio” the adviser replied. Everybody stayed quiet as the brown-haired man made his way from under the table, Gladiolus lending a hand for him to hold on for support while pulling himself up on his feet. Once standing there, Ignis adjusted his glasses on him, before he started fixing his tie as well, the expression as serious as always. “I do thank you for not betraying me. You have saved me from humiliation.”  
“Iggy…” Gladio called with a sweet smile but amused, awkward eyes. “I don’t understand.”  
“What’s happening, son?” king Regis asked with as much curiosity as the other men. When Ignis turned to look at him with a tiny flinch, Gladio had to stare away and contain a laugh; of course Ignis would have not done this in his full senses, and only now he was realizing just what he had done in front of the King and his sworn shield. The adviser of the prince cleared his throat and had to stare away, his cheeks turning red and his frown deepening. 

Ignis did not reply for some moments, the face burning and his hands fixing his clothes. They were fine, but he hated to not be in perfect conditions, so he was undoing the little wrinkles that had appeared on them.  
“…I…” Ignis tried to start saying. It had not been a trouble when he had arrived, but now that he was falling in realization of what he had done, he was furiously blushing in embarrassment. “…it is nothing that should become a matter of concern, your Majesty. I…” the twenty year old cleared his throat again, and he, serious and solemn, bowed to him. “I beg your pardon. My apologies. I should not have slammed through the door the way I did. I was not thinking clearly. I apologize, your highness” said that, he turned to look at Clarus. He looked especially embarrassed when he did; not more embarrassed than he felt when facing the king, but differently, much more personally. “…I…apologize, mister Amicitia. I have been rude, and I apologize if I have offended or interrupted.”

“Don’t worry, Ignis” Clarus said, his expression as serious. “But I think I do would like an explanation. Were you running from my daughter?”  
“It is not…” Ignis blushed harder when he heard Gladio snorting at his side. The adviser frowned a bit more, not daring to look at any of the men in there. “It is not a serious matter. We are…we were…” he cleared his throat again, moving a hand up with the excuse to adjust his glasses, but really only hiding his face with a hand, even if only a little. “…she requested for me to join her in a little entertainment while awaiting for you and Gladiolus to be done.”  
“So…all of this mess is because…you two are playing?” Gladio asked, and at the direct way it was put, Ignis’ face became redder and his frown much deeper. “You sure take games very seriously, Iggy. To break into a meeting between the King and his Shield-”

“You do not understand, Gladio” Ignis chided him, even though the voice remained cool and calm. “My honor is endangered. I must not lose or she…” realizing what he was saying, Ignis looked away again, pulling lightly from the collar of his shirt. “…this is not important. I apologize: it is only a kids game. I should take my leave.”  
“No, I’m interested” King Regis said with a little smile. Clarus sighed quietly; Regis could be king, but inside he really was just a kid…very mature and everything, but a kid that liked little laughs at times. “What are you and Iris playing?”  
“…I do believe it is of no major concern, your Majesty” Ignis said quietly, a bit tense.  
“I believe it is” Regis said, and Clarus could not contain a little smile of amusement; the kid inside Regis would always take advantage in a very childish way of his power. It was like a kid with a crown that uses it to ask for waffles at midnight. “Ignis, what are you two playing?”  
“…well…” Ignis, blushing again and putting the head lightly down, hid his hands behind himself, clear sign of his sudden shyness. “She…it is some sort of tag game. She was sure that she was faster and slyer than I, and…the dare was that she could not find me and poke me by the end of the work shift in the Citadel” he cleared his throat once done with the explanation.

“I see” Regis continued, looking at him with attention and a little smile. “And what’s to happen if she wins?”  
“That is the major concern and problem, your Majesty” Ignis replied, so serious that one could not really say he was talking about a game. And still, this was the usual way Ignis would kid and play around; as if though it was a death-or-life issue. “If I am to lose and become poked before the settled time, she will have me go an entire day of work dressed in a moogle outfit.”  
Gladio could not help the loud snort. He had to bite at his lower lip and hide his mouth behind his fingers not to burst out in loud laughter. Clarus, usually serious, smiled softly once and closed the eyes, fighting against himself not to lose it either. Regis gave a tiny, little laugh, eyes still fixed on Ignis.  
“And I…cannot allow that” Ignis continued, much redder in the face and neck by now. “That would…destroy my pride and honor.”

Gladio could not help the little, contained laugh, staring down and covering his mouth. At his side, Clarus almost failed to contain his own, his smile widening and his tummy aching from keeping the laugh inside. Regis gave a little chuckle, eyes with full attention on Ignis.  
“Well, you can stay here if you wish” the king offered with an amazed smile. “I doubt she comes back.”  
“I’m grateful for the offer, but I will decline, your Majesty” Ignis said in full seriousness. “I am afraid it goes against the rules; if I stay in the same room for more than five minutes…”  
“What, Ignis?” Regis offered gently after he had noticed that the adviser stopped out of shyness and embarrassment again. The young Scientia, again, adjusted his eyes, pushing them up his nose.  
“…the floor becomes lava” he stated. Gladio passed a hand through his own hair, laughing a bit louder this time. Clarus had to stare away and hide his mouth behind a hand, snorting. Ignis, at the reaction from his father-in-law, flushed red and started heading back to the door. “With your permission, your Majesty.”

Ignis, at the door, turned and looked at Regis, placing a hand softly on his chest and presenting a slow, solemn bow to the king.  
“Mister Amicitia” Ignis bid goodbye and bowed to said man, except it was not as pronounced as it had to be with the king, like etiquette held. Clarus, a bit embarrassed, smiled and stared away, but gave a half nod at Ignis. “Excuse me” with that as his last words, Ignis opened the door. He did it slowly and carefully, only enough to get a look of the outside. At that, Gladio kept laughing and Clarus, now that Ignis was not seeing, felt free to chuckle and shake the head. The adviser, when he made sure the coast was clear, suddenly hurried to the outside. His steps echoed for a moment, rushing but not running, and soon enough he was gone.

Regis smiled and laughed only a tiny bit while staring at the door, before turning to look at the Amicitia. Gladiolus, with the cheeks red, stared away of his dad and grinned with joy, but the eyes seemed to think of something sweet. Clarus, on his part, was fighting hard to keep composure, the hands holding each other and resting on the table, and an eyebrow twitching lightly, clearly trying not to laugh or earn conversation out of this.  
“Well” king Regis said with a little grin while looking again at the door. He sighed and shook lightly the head, turning to the shields again. “Where were we?”  
“…I lost focus, your highness” Clarus admitted. “Where were we, Gladio?”  
“Noctis’ training” Gladio stated, still staring away and thinking on other things. Regis let him be and nodded.

They retook the meeting, but it was clear none was focusing. King Regis did not mind.

\----------

“So she didn’t poke you in time”  
“She almost does, nonetheless” Ignis stated with a very subtle smile of pride upon his face, walking hand-in-hand with the eldest son of the Amicitia through the hallway of the building. “She has skills; managed to corner me multiple times. I do, however, told her I have a rigorous training, and I could handle it. Despite my victory, though, I must admit that she’s developing perfectly; at her pace, she could replace you as Sworn Shield very easily by adulthood.”  
“You’re saying my sister’s better than _me_?” Gladio said with surprise, and then let out a loud, short ‘Ha’. “ _No one’s_ better than me as Sworn Shield. Maybe except my dad” before continuing the conversation, Gladio sighed. “So, no moogle outfit for you?”

“No” Ignis smiled proudly, both of them stopping in front of the door to Ignis’ apartment. The adviser turned to face Gladiolus properly. “My honor is intact.”  
Gladio laughed and shook the head, amused.  
“You take things too seriously, Iggy” he said a bit more quietly. Ignis did not reply and only smiled up at him. The shield looked with warm eyes at his boyfriend, in silence. “You know…that’s very sweet from you.”  
“Taking things seriously?” Ignis questioned, like always, in full seriousness. Whether he was joking or not was a mystery to the shield. “I had thought you did not like that I-”  
“Not that, you ass” Gladio said with a little laugh. After being done with that, he held both of Ignis’ hands carefully. The adviser looked down at the soft grips for a moment before his eyes returned to the other’s, finding them very warm and sweet on him. “Your treatment with Iris.”

There was silence. Ignis, a bit embarrassed, looked away for a moment, serious, and the cheeks burning, even though they did not change in color.  
“She’s the kind of people that could tire you easily; troublesome” Gladio told his boyfriend, and did not give him time to reply. “But you don’t reject her. Despite how much she insists on dressing you up as things you could find ridiculous in other contexts, and how much she insists on playing around when you’re not the type to deal with that so often, you still do. And, you can’t deny it, you _enjoy_ of it.”  
“…well…” Ignis cleared his throat, the gaze slightly down and a tiny, subtle smile on his lips. “I cannot be rude with her even if I wanted. I enjoy greatly of her company” Ignis looked up at his boyfriend and opened his thoughts a bit more. “I do have to apologize because I sometimes am so comfortable with her that I get carried away and I do things like…like what I did today. I would have _never_ -”

“I know” Gladio interrupted with another laugh. “And that’s what’s so sweet from you; that you really do enjoy playing with her” the shield brought Ignis’ hands up and entwined their fingers together, the palms meeting. Ignis, realizing his boyfriend was serious, stayed quiet and unexpressive, looking up at him. “She loves you dearly. You’re very good to her; you let her paint your face, dress you up, and you do things she doesn’t even ask you for” Gladio smiled with great warmth at the other. “You stay up late texting her if she’s having nightmares or love troubles she’s too shy to share with me, even when you have to work the next day. You always take time to talk with her if you know something’s bothering her, even when your schedules are so tight. You always make sure she’s home by when it’s dark outside, and you always take care of her in all situations, even if just by giving her your jacket.”

Ignis had opened the mouth slightly for a moment as if to complain, and even though no word escaped his mouth, the question was clear in his confused eyes. Gladio smiled more widely at him.  
“She doesn’t tell me that stuff; I notice” the shield said and, still holding the other’s hands, he brought him close and slipped his arms around Ignis’ waist, very gently. Ignis, a bit off guard, laid his hands on Gladio’s arms, and received the kiss from the taller man. The mouths broke apart, and Gladio spoke again. “No matter how much you try to hide it, Iggy, your treatment with my dad and my sister is obvious. You _care_ , and everything you do is born from the heart” Ignis seemed a bit surprised, as if he had not expected any of this. He stayed quiet, the eyes down, suddenly a bit shy to look up at Gladio. “Both love you very dearly. So much. I know my dad maybe doesn’t show it too much, but he’s fascinated with your treatment not only towards him and I, he adores the way you care for Iris like a second older brother.”

Gladio took half a step back to not be uncomfortable looking down at Ignis and not to keep him with the head as thrown back. They looked at each other for a few more moments.  
“Iggy” Gladio said softly. “You’re the best brother-in-law that could exist. Iris has luck.”  
Said that, the shield took one of Ignis’ hands again and brought it up. He placed it against his own cheek and leaned his face into it; Ignis let him, feeling Gladio’s slight beard underneath, his warm skin, and adoring the touch.  
“I know it may seem obvious by now, but truth is, I have never said it aloud before” the shield looked down at his boyfriend again, this time the smile not amused but very serious. “Ignis, you are an Amicitia to me.”

Ignis tensed up lightly at that, opening the eyes slightly more and his chest swelling subtly. Gladio let go of his hand, and Ignis let it slowly fall to the shield’s shoulder. Both stayed quiet.  
“I don’t care if we’re too young and only boyfriends” Gladio stated. “You’re already part of my family, Ignis. And I mean it. You’re a son to my dad, and a wonderful brother to Iris” the shield leaned closer and down, and he pressed a kiss to Ignis’ forehead, the softest he had delivered in two years of relationship so far. The sensation made the adviser’s cheeks give in to a very soft and subtle shade of red, and his heart fluttered inside his chest. When Gladio broke apart it was only to move a hand up that he used to softly caress the younger male’s cheek. “Ignis, I don’t know if the world will give me the honor to stay with you in a future, but, whether we stay together or not, just know that you’re family not only to me, but also to them, and you will always be” said that, Gladio moved the other hand up and he cupped the adviser’s face. He brought him close to kiss his forehead again. “Did you understand?”

When the shield looked down at the other, he found Ignis looking at him as if though they had just broken up. The adviser’s eyebrows were furrowed and his breath had come to be heavy and trembling. His eyes, while not watering, gleamed in a very thin, millimetric layer of lubrication. Gladio was not surprised at the reaction: the family subject was something very intimate and delicate for Ignis. He knew the kind of shock it could leave on the adviser, so he gave him his time to react. 

Ignis did not say anything. Gladio, knowing him very well by then, knew that the most possible was that the adviser was scared that if he opened the mouth he would end up crying. Gladio found nothing wrong in tears, but Ignis hated to break down and did not often let himself do. As a response, Ignis only nodded and put the head down. Gladio, moved and serious, brought him into a hug, which Ignis returned very firmly.  
Despite his glasses ruining it a bit, Ignis did not care about them and anyway buried his face in Gladio’s strong shoulder, eyes closed and heart breaking inside his chest, but in a very positive and wonderful way.  
They stayed in a tight, quiet and very intimate hug for long moments.  
While in it and after some moments like that, Gladio moved one of his hands up so it could caress Ignis’ hair, and the adviser, much calmer now, smiled at the sensation and kept the eyes softly closed. 

“You are my family too” Ignis finally managed some words out, quietly, bringing them from deep within. “Not only you, but your father and sister as well. You are my family. Thank you.”  
“Thank _you_ , Iggy” Gladio whispered to him, keeping him close. He, like his boyfriend, closed the eyes softly, and very softly and subtly rocked themselves side to side during the hug.  
Ignis smiled and did not mind staying in the embrace for more and more minutes.  
He, while in Gladio’s arms, remembered his boyfriend’s words. ‘You’re an Amicitia to me’, he had said.  
Ignis smiled.  
_One day_ , he thought.


End file.
